


The Right Side of Nowhere

by Aleois



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Road Trip, M/M, Slight fluff, klance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-02
Updated: 2018-03-02
Packaged: 2019-03-25 15:46:04
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,538
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13837950
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aleois/pseuds/Aleois
Summary: A gift for the vldpositivity exchange. Hunk, Keith, Pidge, and Lance all graduated top of the class in their various fields and were on the fast track to success, so how did they end up in the back of box car with no idea where they were headed? Keith reflects on the events that lead up to this point.





	The Right Side of Nowhere

**Author's Note:**

  * For [KaSaPe](https://archiveofourown.org/users/KaSaPe/gifts).



When they were younger, the four of them used to climb out of Lance’s window to lay on the roof, where they would spend hours looking at the stars and talking about where they thought they end up after they graduated. Pidge wanted to work in a science field, but they weren’t sure which. They had degrees in biology, physics, and various smaller fields, but was even more lost after graduating than they had been before starting school. Hunk was amazing with his hands, and had an engineering degree to prove it. His parents wanted him to put that degree to good use, but he just wanted to open up a little bakery somewhere. Keith and Lance had both pursued art degrees, but finding work with one of those was next to impossible.

It was Lance who first suggested it. 

“Why don’t we just run away?” 

He had meant it as a joke, but the more they talked about it, the more they grew to actually like the idea, and then one day they were meeting outside the train station, each with nothing more than a bag on their backs and the clothes they wore. 

They didn’t take the train at first, opting instead to walk, explore the countryside they had never taken the time to stop and appreciate while in school. Lance especially was enraptured by the wildlife, stopping every five seconds to excitedly point out a bird or a deer to a bemused Hunk. They didn’t have much in the way of camping supplies, but made camp anyway, unrolling their sleeping under a small rock ledge that hung over a dip beside the river. 

It rained that night and they woke to soaked bedrolls. 

While everyone else was grumbling about being soaking wet in a rainstorm, Lance laughed. He took one look at the ragged looking crew and bent over, laughing so hard tears leaked from his eyes. No matter how uncomfortable their clothes were, it was hard to be upset when someone who looked like a drowned rat was bent over in tears. They waited out the storm under the rock, bodies pressed together for warmth and clothes hung over a small fire to dry.

They had their first scare a week later. Overexcited and eager as always, Lance had taken off as soon as the group had rolled up their sleeping bags. Pidge hollered after him to be careful, but he just waved them off and continued weaving his way through the trees. The other three shared a look, but headed off after him. It wasn’t long before they heard a yelp, followed by a suspicious lack of Lance sounds. Before Keith could even really think about what that might mean, Hunks pack was on the ground and the guy was gone, practically flying through the trees. Keith grabbed the discarded bag and he and Pidge hurried after him. 

When they finally found the two, it was to see a concerned Hunk, with a very irritated Lance draped over his shoulders. 

“What happened?”

“Lance sprained his ankle.” Hunk’s face was a mixture of bemusement and worry. They were all concerned about Lance’s ankle, but after watching him tear through the woods earlier, none of them were particularly surprised that this had happened.

“You’ll have to stay off of it for at least three days,” Pidge informed him, and he groaned, letting his head fall back with a dramatic sigh. Pidge ignored him and picked his pack up and shouldered it, loosening the straps so they could fit it over their own pack, and the group headed off in search of a place they could make camp at for a few days while Lance healed. A hollow in an old oak tree proved to be just big enough for the four of them, and Keith worked on getting a fire going while Pidge and Hunk built a crude splint for Lance.

They were there for almost a week before Lance could walk again.

A few weeks after Lance’s ankle had finally healed enough for him to safely walk on his own again, the group was camped out in a cluster of trees beside a rather large clearing. Lance and Keith lay side by side in the clearing, fingers clasped around each other, Lance’s thumb tracing circles on the back of Keith’s hand. The breeze was cold as it blew over them, but everywhere Lance’s thumb touched was warm, and Keith wasn’t sure if the shudder that ran through him was entirely because of the wind.

“I’m glad we decided to go.” Lance’s voice cut through the silence, and Keith turned his head towards him. 

Everytime Keith looked at Lance, he was struck by just how beautiful this man was. His face was sharp and angular, dark freckles dusting the tops of his cheekbones and the bridge of his nose like a constellation come to life on his skin. His eyes were the bluest colour Keith had ever seen, as deep as the ocean, and he had long ago lost count of how many times he had drowned in that gaze. 

It was a funny thing, how love worked. When they had first left on this adventure several months ago, Keith and Lance had been playing an odd dance of bad flirting and even worse hinting, unable to even look at each other without blushing. And now….Well, now they spent most of their nights beneath the stars, a comfortable silence between them broken only by the occasional observation. Turns out Lance knew a lot about the stars, and had spent most of their first few nights together naming the different constellations and weaving their stories through the silence of the night, epic sword fights and tales of grand adventures behind every gold and silver point above them. They had discovered a common interest in the night sky, and Keith had found it impossible not to be drawn in by Lance’s story telling, the other man able to make even the dullest story sound like something straight from the pages of an epic, and the two quickly became inseparable. 

Keith squeezed Lance’s hand and smiled. “Yeah, me too.”

They lost track of how long they stayed like that, laying in silence under the stars, nothing between them but the warmth of their hands.  
The sun was setting just over the horizon, the only constant as the earth raced alongside them, the greens and blue of the landscape melding with the reds and golds of the sun as it slipped lower in the sky. 

\---

They were heading west, following the direction of the sleeping sun. The countryside was empty, homes and people growing sparser the further from the city they went. Keith took a deep breath, allowing the clean air to fill his lungs and permeate his insides with a soft chill. His eyes closed for a minute, and he let the wind whip around his face as he enjoyed a moment of peace. Hunk and Pidge were passed out, curled around each other in the dark of the boxcar. Lance was similarly passed out, snoring away with his head in the warmth of Keiths lap. The fading sunlight bled through the open door, bathing Lance in a soft golden glow, framing his shadow like a delicate halo. Keith was mesmerized by the sight, pale fingers running absently through the deep brown of Lance’s hair. 

When he opened his eyes again, the sky above them had fallen dark, a beautiful expanse of sparkling gold against black,the light from the stars igniting the world around them in a breathtaking mix of silver and gold. Fireflies dotted the landscape around them, passing by in streaks of yellow. Below him Lance stirred, and Keith watched in silent amusement as ocean eyes blinked away hours of sleep before slowly turning up to meet Keith’s own. The corners of Lance’s eyes crinkled as a smile split across his face, and he reached one hand up to tap Keith on the nose. 

“Hey there, beautiful.” His voice was deep, still rough with sleep he had yet to shake off, and Keith couldn’t help but mirror his smile.

“Hey yourself. Sleep well?”

Lane didn’t respond with words, simply nodding. His hand fell back down to his lap, tracing the counters of Keith’s face as it fell,and the boy turned back to face the open country in front them. Keith felt a warmth in his chest that he’d never felt before, and he knew it was because of this man, sleeping so innocently in his lap.

Keith wasn’t sure how he ended up here, miles from civilization in a box car on a train headed gods know where, but as the sun slowly set and dusk settled in around them, he found that he didn’t care about the how. Wherever Lance was, wherever this beautiful boy with skin like the night sky and eyes like the ocean went, was where Keith belonged. They say home is where the heart is, and in that moment, with a gentle breeze blowing around them and Lance slowly slipping back into a slumber while Keith’s fingers carded through his hair, Keith had never felt more at home.


End file.
